Note: This story contains a fair amount of P/T, and hints at MSR (it's just as far as you can go without having Mulder and Scully actually *be* in a relationship) Noromos and everyone else: you've been warned!

Authors' Notes:
-- Jane: Well, we started this in February and finished it in October :) It's a very long RR, but it was so much fun to write! We're going to do a sequel, aren't we, Caitlin? *grins* I wanna dedicate this to my 'partner in crime,' Caitlin Rose. Thank you so much, Caity! :::hugs:::

-- Caitlin: For M & S.  You are two of the funniest, kindest, most beautiful - inside and out - women I could ever ope to meet and emulate.  Your friendship is invaluable, and as M says, “work like you don’t need the money, love like you have never been hurt, dance like no one is watching.”  To the One in whom I live and move and have my being: without you I am nothing.  As always, thanks to my beta-readers, Kashy and BrIgEtTe.  The largest applause, though, needs to go to my co-author, Jane; she is the best person you could ever hope to spend seven and a half months (!) writing a story with.  It’s been a blast and I hope this is only the beginning!

Feedback is good. Feedback is *definetely* good. All authors live for feedback! E-mail us at JaneG100@rocketmail.com (Jane) and dana_lynn_tighe@hotmail.com (Caitlin)

Disclaimers: Paramount owns the properties and characters of Star Trek: Voyager; Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and FOX own the properties and characters of The X Files. We are merely borrowing the characters and plots for our own personal usage. In other words: please don't sue!! :) I (Jane Griffen) own the properties of Heather Whitney. We both own the characters of the countless junior officers who appear in this round robin, and the story.

Ready for the second part? *grins* Hope you like it!

ARCHIVIST'S NOTES: Okay, this story is really annoying me because none of the paragraphs are really indented and the TAB-ing won't work. It's way too long for me to go back and re-format, but I'll try to get around to it eventually! Until then, happy reading!
***
Previously, on Changing Tides...

        Scully nodded to show that she understood, then they both froze as footsteps could be heard nearby. Hearing a scraping noise, Scully looked up to find Tom giving them a look from atop the trunk. "Very funny, Heather," he said.
        Whitney smirked, then stood up and stretched. Scully did the same, her muscles cramping from being in the crouching position. "I just had to do that," Whitney commented with a smile.
        Tom gave them a look, then helped first Scully then Heather up onto the log, then they slid and jumped down the other side.
        "So, where are we going?" Heather questioned as they headed over to Harry and Mulder.
        Tom only smiled. "Wait and see."

And now the conclusion...
*****

 As `The Men’ led Scully and Whitney toward their destination, Tom fell into step with B’Elanna, and Harry with Heather, until Scully found herself bringing up the rear of the expedition next to Mulder.
 Mulder inhaled a deep breath of the tropical air.  “Ah, this brings back memories, doesn’t it Scully?”  Scully shot him a questioning look.  “Hopefully we won’t have any Mothmen to deal with here.”
 *Ah,* Scully thought, *reminiscing about old cases.  He’s a sucker if he thinks I’m going to sing to him again. . . .*
 “So, Scully, am I gonna here any more choruses from Three Dog Night?”  Mulder asked.
 *Strike one.*  Scully shot Mulder one of her patented ScullyLooks.  “What do you think, Mulder?”
 “Hey, I think that was a pretty rousing version of Arethra Franklin’s `Respect.’ “ Mulder said with an impish grin.
 *Dang it.  Why couldn’t he have been asleep. . .?*  “Right, Mulder, and it’s the *only* version you’ll *ever* hear from me.”
  “Aw, c’mon, Scully.  I think I could get used to bureau sing-alongs, don’t you?”
 Scully whapped  Mulder playfully on the arm.  He looked at her in surprise, he usually didn’t see this side of her.  “Let’s go, Mulder, they’re leaving us behind.”
 Taking the challenge, Mulder quickened his pace into a jog.
 Less than twenty seconds later Mulder and Scully had caught up.  Just as they reached the other four, the topped a rise in the land, which opened up to reveal a beautiful beach.  The sand was yellow and no pebbles or dirt tainted its clear color.  The water was cerulean blue, so clear that it was almost transparent.  Several trees the equivalent to Earth’s palm trees adorned the edge of the beach, which continued on as far as the eye could see.  Tom had led them to an abandoned part of the coast, and the only sounds were that of their own labored breathing and the waves lapping against the shore below.
 “It’s beautiful. . . .” breathed B’Elanna.
 “Yes, it is,” agreed Tom, though his eyes never left the half-Klingon.  He
slid his arm around her waist and placed a feather light kiss on her forehead.
 “Let’s go!” exclaimed Heather.
 Prompted by the empath's suggestion, the group set off down the hill.  Mulder grasped Scully’s arm to steady her down the steep incline, and then reluctantly released it at the bottom.
 “Too bad we didn’t bring swim suits!” complained Heather, though she was smiling and taking in her surroundings.
 Scully nodded.  “This planet certainly is a tropical paradise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen water clearer.”
 “Who says you need a swim suit to go swimming?” Mulder asked.
 Scully saw that evil glint in his eye.  “Oh, no, Mulder.  No.”  She backed away from him, but he was too fast.  In one foul swoop he had lifted her off her feet and was running as fast as she could with her cradled in his arms toward the ocean.  Running into the surf, he went deep enough so the water would totally engulf her.
 “Muld--ahhhh!”  Scully’s scream was garbled as she plunged into the warm, tropical water.  When she surfaced again Mulder was laughing.  She brushed the wet hair out of her face and then in one fluid motion hurled herself at him, the force of her action pushing them both under the surf.  Mulder came up sputtering, and this time it was Scully’s turn to laugh.  Her hair was flattened against her head, and the water was trickling down her forehead and dripping off her chin.  Her clothes were sticking to her body, and her gold cross necklace glittered in the sun.
 “Way to go, G-Woman,” Mulder said with a grin.
 Scully just smiled at him.  Then she turned and waded back into shore, wringing out her tee shirt as she went. Mulder scrambled to catch up with her.  When they made it back to shore, the other four were laughing.
 “Don’t even try to convince me that was ‘official FBI business,’ “ Harry joked.
 “I don’t know about you all, but I’m hungry.  Shall we eat?”  Tom suggested.
 The group nodded simultaneously, and then followed Tom over to a small grove of three palm trees grouped together, where their food was waiting in the shade.  As they passed out the food Tom, Mulder, and Harry had packed, they talked and joked about miscellaneous and trivial things.  Scully dove into her tuna sandwich before her stomach could start growling.  After hiking and climbing all morning, the sandwiches, lemonade, and fresh fruit from the planet, looked like cuisine. After they had finished off the simple but delicious meal, Mulder unleashed his specialty: cheesecake.
 Mulder smiled at Scully as he plopped a thick slice of the cheesecake onto her plate.  “I can’t eat all this, Mulder,” she complained with a slight smile.
 *Maybe I need to take her on tropical vacation more often if it makes her smile and laugh like this,* Mulder mused.  “Eat it anyway, Scully,” he replied jokingly.
 Heaving a mock sigh she started to eat.  “Mmm, very good, Mulder,” she said around a mouthful of the cheesecake.  “I didn’t know you could cook.”
 “I can’t.  I gave Neelix my mom’s old recipe and he managed to find enough ingredients to whip up a homemade dessert for our little excursion today.”
 “That was nice of him.”
 “Of course, I also promised him a dinner date with you when we get back to Voyager. . . .”
 Scully shot him another look, but couldn’t keep the amusement off her face.
 Several feet away from Mulder and Scully, Heather and Harry were quietly engaged in a conversation of their own about the two agents.
 “They're in love,” Harry said out of the blue.
 “What?”  Heather asked.  They had been discussing how Mulder and Scully were adapting to Voyager’s environment just moments before.
 “Now, I’m no expert on feelings of the heart, but unless I miss my guess, those two are in love.”
 “Harry, I’m impressed,” Heather said with a smile.  She turned her gaze to the two agents.  “They have been for a long time, Harry.  They’re both too scared to admit it.”
 “Scared?  What do they have to be scared of?”  Harry asked, perplexed, as he saw the answer was obvious, that they should admit their love to each other.
 “Losing each other.  That’s what probably scares them both the most.  Mulder feels like he doesn’t deserve Scully, and all he has done is caused her pain.  He’s afraid that if he tries to take it any farther, she’ll leave him for good, and he’s not sure if he can live without her anymore.”
 Harry looked at Heather with an amused expression.  “Are you sure you weren’t a counselor in another life?”
 Heather ignored his comment and continued.  “She’s afraid of her own feelings.  She doesn’t want to open up and let other people inside, because she’s afraid of being hurt.  She doesn’t want to make herself vulnerable in any way.”  Heather sighed.  “It might be years until they tell each other, if then.  By then it may be too late, though.  They are prominent figures in the world-wide conspiracy back in the 20th century; the men who control it don’t care whose lives the destroy or whose hearts they break.”
 “Why don’t they fight these men?”
 “They do, Harry,” Heather said seriously.  “Every day.  For the past six years that’s what they have been doing.”
 Before Harry could reply, Tom interrupted and immediately lightened the mood.  “Ready for a swim?”
***
 B’Elanna ran through the water screaming, her feet splashing up water as she dashed through the shallow waters and towards the beach. Tom was right behind her, laughing his head off. Seeing B’Elanna stumble, he dove for her ankles and grasped them, plunging her under the water. A few moments later, they both emerged from underwater. B’Elanna sputtered, “You are so dead!” and dove for Tom.
 Meanwhile, further out, Harry, Heather, Scully, and Mulder laughed as they watched the other two’s antics. “Go ‘Lanna!” cheered Whitney.
 Mulder shook his head, and watched Scully smile in amusement. The six had been swimming, talking, and fooling around in the ocean for over half an hour, and the temperatures were around ninety-four Fahrenheit.  *I wonder why I never thought of this before,* he thought dryly, glancing back over at Scully. He had almost never seen Scully smile so much and be so *open* before. It felt good to be on vacation and not working at the office. He wondered what was going on back in the 20th century and whether anybody had noticed that they were gone or if time was suspended. Before he could think any further along that line of thought, he was splashed in the face with a stream of cold water.
 Scully stood there, looking as innocent as possible. *Serves him right,* she thought with a delighted grin at the look of shock on his face as he wiped the water from his eyes.
 “Scully!” he said with exaggerated exasperation, then ran towards her. She ran the other way, then dove into the water and began to do free-style.
 Heather and Harry watched the two FBI agents. “This is so much fun!” Heather announced, sprawling herself out in the water and floating on her back. Doing a quick flip, she sat on the bottom, only the top of her shoulders and head showing. “What do you think?”
 “I think Voyager should stop at more planets like this,” replied Harry, sitting down in the water as well. By now, Tom and B’Elanna were involved in a water fight near the beach, totally oblivious to everyone and everything else.
 “They make a cute couple, don’t they?” Heather mused.
 “Who, Tom and B’Elanna? I thought you already knew that,” Kim teased, giving her a look.
 Whitney rolled her eyes. “No, duh!” she replied, imitating a teenager’s reaction. Sobering, she explained. “I meant Mulder and Scully.”
 “Oh,” Harry said.
 “What do you think of them?”
 “They’re...different. Scully seemed so serious before, and Mulder is just...” Harry shrugged.
 “Mulder?” Heather offered. This time it was Harry who shot the look. Heather threw up her hands in mock defense. “What?”
 “What?” Mulder echoed, swimming over to them. Scully followed, glaring at Mulder. Obviously he had succeeded in dunking her more than she had him.
 “Nothing,” Whitney commented off-handedly. “We were just talking about them.” She pointed with accusation at Tom and B’Elanna, who were walking hand in hand towards them.
 Seeing Heather pointing at them, Tom called out, “What?”
 “Why is *everyone* asking me that?” Heather howled, doing her best to be angry. She didn’t triumph. Instead she laughed. “Nothing! What time is it?”
 Tom glanced down at his watch and nearly gasped. “Way past. The Flyer’s leaving in twenty minutes. We’ll never make it on time. Tuvok’s going to have a fit.”
 “Ooh, Tuvok having a fit. Now *that* I can see,” B’Elanna commented sarcastically.
 Tom laughed. “Actually, you’re right.”
 “Take a picture of him if he does!” Harry joked, standing up. He offered Heather a hand and helped her up.
 “I guess we’d better go,” Mulder said, trying not to sound too reluctant.
 “Just think. You get to meet dozens of alien races,” Scully noted calmly.
 Heather laughed. “Yeah. We should be heading back to base camp to help the science team. When are you due back at the mining site, B’Elanna?”
 Torres shrugged. “Chakotay said I could take an hour off, about an hour ago.” she said sheepishly.
 “Ooh, playing truant,” teased Tom. “Come on. We might as well head back to the beach and gather up our things. Mulder and I can take everything back to Voyager.” he suggested.
 Moments later found them walking up the beach to the spot underneath the palm trees where they had had their picnic. Everything was the same as when they had left it.
 “This it the one thing I hate about beaches,” Harry muttered to Heather. “The sand.”
 B’Elanna looked up from trying to brush sand off her feet - without luck. The stand kept on sticking to her feet since it was wet. “I know the feeling,” she commented dryly.
 Tom pulled on his shirt and sandals after drying off quickly, ignoring the sand. “We’ll probably have time for a quick sonic shower.”
 “Aaah,” Whitney cried out as she toppled over from trying to stand on one foot, brush the sand off of her legs, and try to put her shoes on all at the same time.
 Scully smirked. She had left her sandals at the edge of the ocean, so she didn’t have to bother with walking through the sand.
 Whitney glared at her. “Not funny,” she protested, getting back up.
 Mulder rolled his eyes. “We’ve got about twenty-five minutes,” he told Tom.
  “I’ll beam up with you; my Bridge shift starts soon.” Kim added.
 B’Elanna gave Tom a quick kiss, telling him to watch it, and Heather called goodbye to the men.
 Walking a bit away from the group, Scully turned to Mulder. “I guess you’d better go,” she said softly, tilting her head to look up at Mulder.
 Mulder grinned at her. “Yeah.”
 Scully paused, gazing down at her hands. She wanted so much to kiss him, but she ignored the impulse. Instead, she told him simply, “Watch your back.” with an orderly tone.
 “You watch yours, too,” Mulder replied after a second, then gave her one last smile and walked back over to Tom.
 “Paris to Voyager. Three to beam up.” Tom said, hitting his commbadge.
 “Standby.”
 Within seconds, the three men had disappeared in a blue mist, leaving Scully, Whitney, and Torres to get back to work.
*****
 Half an hour later, Mulder, Paris, Tuvok, and Neelix all were seated in the Delta Flyer. “Ready?” Tom called back.
 “Go ahead,” Neelix noted, and Mulder replied with a ‘yes’. Tuvok merely nodded.
 “All right. This is the Flyer to Janeway. We’re ready down  here, Captain.” Tom opened up the commchannel between the shuttle and the bridge, ready to begin the pre-flight sequence.
 “Janeway here. I’ve already briefed Tuvok and Neelix on what you are to accomplish. Just scope out the space station and see if they have the materials and minerals we need for Voyager. Be back by 1200 hours.” ordered the captain.
 “You’re giving us a curfew?” Paris joked.
 There was a pause, and Tom could imagine Janeway trying not to smile. “Very funny, Mr. Paris,” came the dry reply. “We’ll see you soon.”
 “Okay. Flyer out.” Tom flew the shuttle out of the shuttle bay with ease, then set in the heading for the Delta Flyer to take. Then he turned back to Mulder. “What do you think?”  he asked with a grin.
 “Impressive,” noted Mulder.
 Tom grinned, turning back to the controls. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
*****
 Scully brushed a lock of sweaty red hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.  Her skin was sticky with perspiration, but she felt the slightest hint of a cool breeze nip at her skin.  Like before a storm.  “Heather?” she called, scanning the group of people hard at work.
 “Hm?” The Betazoid popped her head up from where she was working with Julia to see who had called her name.  She spotted Scully coming toward her and struggled to her feet.
 “Do you feel that?”  Scully asked when she was next to the other young woman.  “The air is a bit cooler, with an edge to it.  Like it gets on Earth just before a storm.”
 Heather glanced up at the sky.  A few clouds were starting to gather, but otherwise the sky was a cloudless bluish-purple, the natural color of the planet's atmosphere.  “You may be right,” Heather agreed, “but we’re making
good progress, and we’re almost done.  If a storm hits, we’ll be able to transport back to Voyager.”
 Scully nodded.  It made sense, but she still felt a bit wary.  It was an alien planet, who knew what might happen?
***
 Mulder followed Tom Paris’s commands with effortless ease.  The lieutenant looked at the maverick FBI agent, impressed with his obvious talent for flying and his ability to learn so quickly.  He was guiding Mulder through
how to pilot the Delta Flyer.  Though they had received A Look from Tuvok, they had reached a moderately desolate part of space, and Tom didn’t see any reason why Mulder couldn’t do try it out.
 “You’re doing great,” Tom admitted.  “How do you learn so fast?”
 Mulder looked up from the stars on the view screen, where his eyes had been fixated.  He lifted one hand off the console and tapped his head.  “EDUC memory.”  He looked back to the screen and let a brief pause fall over them before he added half-seriously, “Now you know the secret of my success.”  Mulder didn’t bother to turn to see Tom’s reaction.  The stars enthralled him.  They had always bee a source of wonder for him, a mystery which he
could never fully unlock no matter how much he understood their physiology.  This was a beautiful view, from the helm of the Delta Flyer.  It was a magnificent shuttle to fly.  Mulder had never realized how exhilarating it was to fly something.  His thoughts returned to an object which held his attention the, majority of the time: Scully.  He wished she had come with him so that she could feel the elation seeing the stars streaking by because of a command that she had given.  Mulder hoped she was having a relaxing time on the planet.  She needed a vacation.
***
 *Some vacation this has turned out to be.* Scully mused.  She was soaked to the bone.  The tropical rain was warm, but was beating down hard against her skin, slapping her bare legs and face, piercing her skin like tiny bullets.  Her hair was wet, and water streamed down her face, pooling in the folds of her already soaking clothing.
 She had been correct in her premonition of a storm - but it was much worse than any of them had imagined.  Those few seemingly innocent clouds in the sky had turned into a boiling sea of electrons and neutrons colliding in
less than half an hour.
 But the rain wasn’t the only problem.  Intense lightening had started moments after the torrential rain, and was affecting the comm and transporter frequencies.
 Now they were really alone.
 Scully’s thoughts shifted to her partner.  She hoped he was faring better
than she was.  She never should have agreed to them splitting up.  It was just too risky; they would have had a much better chance if they had stayed together, but she had made her decision.  She was alone.
 One of the away team members had spotted a series of caves on their
tricorder readings before the storm set, and so now they were headed in the direction.  Scully stumbled and almost fell into Heather when the lieutenant
stopped abruptly.  Scully shifted her weight so she was tall enough to look over Heather’s shoulder.  A large river, made larger and more intimidating by the water that was being added to it every moment stood between them and their only hope of shelter.
 Heather abruptly turned to the ensign behind Scully.  “Tell them to gather
around me,” she yelled over the storm.  The ensign must have heard her, for
she turned to the man behind her and repeated the message.  When the whole
group was gathered around Heather, the science officer held up a thick coil of rope she had removed from her knapsack.  “Tie this to your belt.  It should keep us together.  There’s no other way across.”
 They all understood, and now that there was something they could do they set to work vigorously.  Just a few minutes later they were ready to cross he
river.  All knapsacks had been sealed, knots double and triple checked, hair
pulled back out of the face as well as possible, and nerves steeled for the ordeal ahead.
 Heather entered first, and Scully felt the rope go taught as the current pulled at Heather.  Heather picked her way through the water as safely as possible.  Scully entered behind her, and was surprised at how cold the water was.  Above the roar of the storm, Scully couldn’t hear anyone else, but she felt the rope behind her go taunt as Julia entered behind her.  She felt fear coiled in her belly like a snake.  She might lose her life here on this alien planet, in an alien environment, in an alien time.  Scully suddenly ached for Mulder to be here with her.  Not just for the physical comfort of griping his hand, but the comfort she felt from being with him.  The thought was ripped from her brain as she felt herself being suddenly jerked underwater.  The first thought that crossed her shocked mind was ‘The current!’  But she soon realized her mistake when she identified the source not as water, but the sinuous form of a type of water creature similar to Earth’s snake.  Scully’s mind processed that she should scream for help, but the rational side of her, or what was left of it, told her to keep her mouth shut or she would do the snakes job for it by drowning herself.  Scully kicked and thrashed in the water, trying to untangle herself from the snake’s deadly hold.  She grasped the rope with both hands and jerked on it.  In the swells of the river and the torrential rain, she wasn’t sure if Heather would even notice, but she had to do something.  Her head was starting to swim and her lung felt as though they would burst.  She felt the snake pulling on her, trying to jerk her off the rope. She held on tightly, and thrashed against the creature with what little strength she had left.  She felt a sharp sting as the snake bit her.  Then everything went black. . . .
 Heather tucked her phaser back into her belt and took one of Scully’s arms from Julia.  The two women supported Scully and carried her to the shore.
 Heather laid Scully’s body down and started to perform CPR on her.  Suddenly, Scully took in a deep breath.  She coughed up some water and her eyes fluttered open.
 “This bite looks poisonous,” Heather yelled to Julia.  “We need to get to shelter first, then I’ll tend to it.”
 The rest of the crew had made it safely to shore.  Heather employed a young male Bolian named Rand to carry Scully.  Heather shouldered Rand’s knapsack, and followed after the rest of the crew in a desperate run for the caves.
***
 They had finally made it to the caves.  After having to backtrack once because of a mud slide, they had finally located their only source of shelter.
 The crew was talking quietly and trying to dry off in front of some small campfires they had constructed.  They were passing around semi-dry rations, and trying to lift each other’s spirit’s. Other than the fact that they were all freezing cold due to the river and the rain, which had suddenly turned icy cold instead of being warm like it had in the beginning, they were all fine. Except for Scully.
 Heather, meanwhile, was crouched in the farthest corner of the cave with two other officers.
 “I’m sorry, lieutenant, this is the best I can do until we can contact Voyager,” Ensign Zarine Bashire admitted.  She was the only one of the group with and medical expertise other than basic first aid.
 Scully was awake now, and was watching the people hovering over her with unfocused eyes.
 “I’ve extracted all the venom I can under these conditions,” Zarine continued.  “I can’t be sure I’ve gotten all of it, but from what I can tell with this partially operational tricorder, it should be sufficient for now.  Because I was not able to perform the extraction immediately after she was bitten, the chances are much greater that some of the poison has permeated her blood far enough that I can not reach it with the tools on hand.  So, she will need the be kept awake.  Id she is allowed to go to sleep, it is very possible the poison could cause her to stop breathing.”
 Heather nodded.  “Thank you, ensign.  I’ll mention your good work to the captain when we get back to Voyager.”  Zarine flashed Heather a fleeting smile before turning and joining some of the other crew members around one of the fire.  They welcomed her immediately and passed her the rations.  Julia, who had been assisting Zarine, also rejoined one of the groups for something to eat before they turned in for the night.
 Heather sighed softly.  In just a few short hours, this trip had gone from a tropical paradise to a fight for their lives . . . again.  She could still see flashes of lightening illuminate the cave walls near the entrance.  The crew had piled up some rocks and other debris in front of the mouth of the cave in an effort to keep most of the rain out.  Luckily, the cave was quite deep and large, so they had situated the campfires far back from the opening.
 Heather turned to Scully.  The FBI agent moaned quietly and turned her head to look at Heather.  She blinked several times, as if trying to clear her vision.  “I hate snakes,” she said in a dazed voice.
 Heather smiled slightly.  “Yeah, I guess so.”
 “No,” Scully protested, “I *hate* them.  I’ve hated them since I was a little girl playing in the woods with my brothers.”  Scully shifted her body weight and her eyes closed.  Heather immediately took Scully’s wrist.
 “C’mon, Scully, you’ve got to stay awake,” she said gently.
 Scully muttered something and reopened her eyes.  “I wish Mulder were here,” she said more seriously.
 “Why?”  Heather asked.
 Scully pursed her lips.  “I don’t know.  He makes me feel comfortable.  I’d feel better knowing he was here.  Not that I need a knight in shining armor to come and rescue me,” she added hastily.
 “I know,” Heather agreed, smiling.
 Scully tilted her head back and looked at Heather.  “I don’t think you do know what it’s like to work with someone as closely as I have with Mulder for six years.  This job, it’s like a marriage.  It’s been my whole life.  Mulder is my life.”
 “And you see that as a bad thing?” Heather persisted.  She smiled inwardly at the comments Harry would make about her being a born psychologist if he could only see her now.
 “Not necessarily,” Scully said quickly.  “I mean, sure there are times when I want to just leave it all behind, Mulder, the X-Files, our quest for the truth, the paperwork,” Heather smiled at this.  “I just want to go live my life.  Buy a house.  Go to church consistently.  Get a new dog.  Get married.”
 Something about the way Scully said the last thing made Heather pursue something she knew Scully probably didn’t want to go into.  “So what’s stopping you?” she asked.
 “Duty.”  Scully replied, but the way she said it made it seem more like a question than a statement.
 “Are you sure?”
 “What do you mean, ‘are you sure?’ “ Scully asked indignantly.
 “I meant, are you sure that that’s all it is?  All that’s stopping you from doing that is your sense of duty to the FBI, to your job?”
 Scully paused for a moment, turning the question over in her mind.  “No,” she finally admitted, “I don’t think that’s all it is.”  She groped for words to express what she was feeling.  “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. . . .” she trailed off.  “I hardly know you.”
 All the more reason,” Heather said.  “And soon you’ll probably never have to see me again.”
 Scully seemed to not have heard the other woman.  “It’s also because of him,” she said so softly that Heather had to strain to hear her.  “I . . . I can’t imagine any of those things . . . without him.”
 “Why don’t you tell him?” asked Heather.
 “I couldn’t tell him even if I wanted to.” Scully admitted.
 Heather made a strangled noise, then turned around so that the FBI agent couldn’t tell that she was trying very, very hard not to laugh. *How come these things always have to happen to me?* she asked incredulously to herself. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the answer. “Why don’t you tell him how you feel about him?”
 "It's not that. It's just that I-" Scully broke off. "There are just too many variables. What if he- What if he doesn't return my feelings in the same way? What if he doesn't want to be a part of my life outside of work and just being 'friends'? What if he doesn't l-" Scully stopped, and reverted her gaze from Heather's icy blue eyes.
 "Does he love you?"
 Scully paused before answering. "I'm not sure. I mean, I'm almost positive he loves me as a close *friend*, but . . ."
 Whitney nodded slowly. "Does he love you in an intimate sense?" she asked, trying to not let her curiosity get the better of her. She phrased the question carefully.
 Scully looked flustered, then closed her eyes.
 "Has he ever told you he loved you?" persisted the Betazoid, slightly frantic that Scully was falling asleep on her. She knew that there were plenty of other questions she could be asking Scully, but she knew only a few would really get the FBI agent's attention. And she figured that questions about her and Mulder's relationship was the way to go.
 A few ensigns had tried enhancing a few of the commbadges with the four operational tricorders left (two had been lost, and another seven had been swept away by the current), without much luck. There was a slim chance that the transporters would be able to work when the storm lessened up, and Heather had a feeling that wouldn't be for quite a while. And chances were even slimmer that a shuttle would make it to the surface.
 Since the storm had started, the temperature had started to decline. First it had been subtle, but then it had started to drop quickly. Thankfully, everyone had at least a tanktop and slightly tight shorts on underneath as part of their standard Starfleet uniform, so Heather had ordered everyone to strip off their jackets and long pants as soon as they had reached the cave and started a fire to prevent mild hypothermia. Now their clothes were drying on one side of the cave, and the two large fires that they had been able to start with some scattered dry kindling in the back of the cave and their phasers were burning quite nicely. The cave was ‘toasty warm’, as Brian Thompson had remarked, now, and Heather hoped that it would stay that way.
 Scully frowned slightly as she thought over the question. "Once," she admitted softly, not even knowing why she was telling a woman she had only known for a few days things that she would never tell the closest people in her life. *Must be the venom disrupting my brain functions,* she thought wryly. "But he was high on various medication drugs," she added quickly.
 "Are you so sure?" teased Heather, shifting her weight so that she was leaning against one of the cave walls.
 "I think so," Scully whispered, then added after a moment's pause, "I *really* wish Mulder was here."
 Heather smiled softly at the comment, then tried to reassure her. "I'm sure we’ll be able to get you back to Voyager soon and Mulder will be waiting for you.”
 Surprisingly, Scully didn’t even remind her that Mulder wouldn’t be onboard Voyager. Instead, she merely nodded, her blue eyes unfocused and staring into a space above Heather’s shoulders.
 “Have the two of you ever kissed?”
 “Those damn bees,” Scully managed to slur, barely audible.
 “Scully?” asked Heather, her voice rising slightly at the agent’s decreasing condition.
 Scully tried to focus on Whitney’s voice, but it was too hard so she gave up after a moment of hard concentration. All of a sudden she was feeling tired, but she pushed that thought aside, telling herself, *I can’t fall asleep. I must not fall asleep. I will not fall asleep . . .* But the prospect was too inviting and she felt herself drifting towards unconsciousness . . .
 Slap!
 Scully’s eyes flew open and her hand soared to her cheek, which suddenly felt like it was on fire. “Wha?”
 Heather leaned back on her heels, sighing in relief. “Sorry, Scully. I was afraid we’d lose you.”
 Scully nodded. “You’d better start thinking up topics for us to talk about,” she managed to tease.
 “How about Diana Fowley?”
 Scully’s eyes widened. “What did you say?” she asked incredulously.
 “You heard me,” Whitney said with a slight smile.
 “How come you know about her?” Scully insisted, avoiding the question.
 “I know a lot of things about you and Mulder that you don’t know that I know,” Whitney replied mysteriously.
 “And how does Fowley fit in with Mulder and me?” Scully asked.
 “You tell me.”
 “I don’t like her,” Scully said after a moment.
 Heather raised her eyebrows. “That’s it? You ‘don’t like her’?”
 “All right, I hate her. I think she’s a bitch,” admitted Scully.
 “Why?”
 “The way she acts whenever she’s in the same room as Mulder, and the way she makes Mulder act whenever he’s in the same room as *her*. I hate the way he blindly follows her faithfully while at the same time he tells me to ‘trust no one.’” Scully explained, a touch of anger in her voice.
 Whitney saw that Scully’s eyes seemed a little more focused, so she decided to press the subject. “Do you trust her?”
 “Heck, no. She always shows up at the perfect time, which, in my opinion, is a little bit too suspicious. She left out certain things her report one time that were absolutely *vital* to backing up Mulder’s theory about a year ago. I mean, she suddenly appears years after she’s last seen Mulder, and he trusts her. Without a doubt.”
 Heather desperately wanted to console Scully, and to vent out her rants about Diana Fowley (which she had gained from watching episodes like The End, The Beginning, Two Fathers, One Son, Biogenesis, and others), but knew that that would probably be a breach of the Temporal Prime Directive, so she kept quiet. “But Mulder trusts *you*,” she reminded the agent.
 “Not as much as he trusts *her*,” Scully said.
 “Scully,” Whitney told her in disbelief. “After all that the two of you have been through together, after all that you’ve witnessed, after all that you’ve *shared*, how can you doubt Mulder’s trust in you?”
 “Because of the facts,” Scully replied after a pause.
 The science officer frowned. When she noticed Scully starting to close her eyes, she shook her gently. “Scully, c’mon! You’ve *got* to stay awake! Mulder will kill me if you fall asleep on me!”
 Whether it was the prospect of Mulder killing Heather, or just hearing Mulder’s name mentioned, Scully reopened her blue eyes. But before she could answer, there was a sound that was unmistakably the sound of rocks clattering down the rocks that led up to the cave. Heather motioned for Zarine, Ben Townsend, and Chloe Lenz to keep Scully awake, whispering to them as she passed, “Ask her about the X Files, and every time she says a name you don’t recognize, ask her to tell you about that person.
 Chloe nodded.
 Heather then reached for her phaser, and motioned for two ensigns from Security to do the same. Together, they walked silently over to the mouth of the cave. Everyone else crouched down on their heels, ready to move at the slightest command.
 A shadowy figure loomed outside the mouth of the cave. It was pouring down rain hard, so Whitney was unable to see any specific features of the figure. “Stop right there,” she called out forcefully. “I’m armed, and I *will* shoot.”
 “Lieutenant Whitney?”
 Lightning suddenly flashed nearby above the ocean. There stood Commander Chakotay outside in the storm.
 Heather lowered her phaser sheepishly. “Sorry, Commander,” she apologized weakly, stepping aside.
 “That’s all right. I can see how I might seem to be a threatening creature in this storm. Is there enough room for eleven more people?” Chakotay asked.
 “Of course. Come on in,” Whitney said,  stepping back and setting her phaser aside on a ledge.
 Ensigns Caitlin Wright, Jane Marlett, Morgan Chesly, A.J. Carter, Todd Eldridge, Nick Fisher, Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres, Joe Carey, Sue Nicoletti, and Chakotay stepped in out of the rain. All were covered in mud and drenched to the bone.
 “Woah, you guys are *soaked*,” commented Julia, making everyone scoot over to make room for the newcomers around the two large fires.
 “I could say the same for your team,” Eldridge remarked.
 B’Elanna took the offered towel from Whitney and started wiping off the remaining mud on her arms and then dried her hair vigorously. Taking the offered brush from Ensign Samantha Renner, she quickly brushed her hair, getting out all the tangles.
 Chakotay, spotting Scully lying on the other side of the fires, questioned Heather. “What happened to Agent Scully?
 “When we were crossing the river a reptilian creature resembling a snake bit her. Ensign Bashire was able to get most of the poison out of the bite, but there’s still a substantial amount of poison in her bloodstream. She needs to be kept awake until we can treat her. We’ve got to get her back to Voyager, and *soon*.” Heather explained, worry creeping into her voice.
 “We’ve tried contacting Voyager, but there’s no way we’ll be able to get through these storms.” Lieutenant Justin O’Conner spoke up.
 Chakotay sighed. “At least Neelix isn’t here to suggest a sing-along,” he remarked dryly.
 “I can do a pretty good impersonation of the Spice Girls,” Whitney said lightly.
 Scully stopped talking about an X File. “If you do I will *murder* you.”
 “Actually, Heather’s a pretty good singer.” B’Elanna replied, not fully understanding.
 Scully only muttered something about Wannabe, which left B’Elanna even more confused.
 Heather, B’Elanna, Joe Carey, and Chakotay excused themselves from the group and went over to a secluded part of the cave, further back from the entrance.
 “How bad is she? The truth.” Chakotay said.
 Heather nodded. “We really do need to get her back to Voyager within the next three or four hours. If she loses consciousness, there’s a chance she’ll stop breathing, and then we’ll lose her. So far she’s stayed awake, but I doubt she’ll be able to make it through the night.”
 Chakotay sighed. “From our sensor readings on the tricorder, this storm is going to be at full strength for a good eight hours, and even after that it’ll be at least another two hours before it lets up enough to contact Voyager.”
 “What about a shuttle?” Joe queried, looking over at B’Elanna.
 Torres’s brow furrowed as her mind processes the question. “The Flyer might be able to make it with Tom flying it, but the Flyer -- and Tom -- is probably at the space station by now. I don’t think any of the standard class-2 Federation shuttles we have available right now would be able to survive the storm. Even if a pilot was able to fly the shuttle to the surface, I don’t know if they’d be able to fly the shuttle back up through the storms. And Chakotay, you and Heather are the next best pilots after Tom, and you’re both here.”
 “Beth Carmen is pretty good,” Joe remarked, but he sounded doubtful.
 “This is just great,” Heather muttered, groaning inwardly. “B’Elanna, do you have any tricks up your sleeves for enhancing the commbadges? If their signal was strong enough, we might be able to get a message through to Voyager.”
 Torres nodded slowly. “I’ve got a few tactics I could try, but I doubt they’d work.”
 “Do it,” Chakotay ordered. “Joe, help her.”
 The two engineers nodded and were about to go when Ben Townsend called out, “Commander! Lieutenants!”
 Heather was the first one there. “What’s wrong?” she asked, directing her question towards Zarine even though her attention was focused on Scully.
 Bashire’s brow furrowed. “I think she might be going into hypothermic shock. We need to get her closer to the fire.”
 Chakotay and Joe helped carry Scully next to the fire, then Heather, B’Elanna, and Zarine set about finding the few blankets that hadn’t been soaked in the storm. Wrapping them around the shivering agent, Heather ordered Jane Marlett and Caitlin Wright to heat up some water. Then B’Elanna started going through Scully’s pack. Even though the fabric was waterproof, most of the items inside were wet. B’Elanna quickly pulled out Scully’s extra sets of clothes, and spread them out next to the uniforms to dry since they were damp. She then found a notebook and pen, suntan lotion, and bug spray. Then she came across a clear bag that held seeds in it. Her brow furrowed. “What on earth are these?” she wondered out loud.
 Heather looked up and laughed at the puzzled look on the chief engineer’s face. “Sunflower seeds.” she replied.
 “What the heck are those?!”
 “They’re seeds that come from sunflowers.” B’Elanna shot Heather a look, and the science officer relented with an impish grin, “Mulder *loves* them.” The puzzled expression on the chief engineer’s face didn’t go away, so Heather added. “They’re edible.”
 “Oh!” B’Elanna said, then turned to Scully. “Is it all right if we eat these?”
 Scully had been watching the entire scenario through unfocused eyes. It was getting harder and harder not to fall asleep, and now she felt particularly cold. She sipped a cup of hot broth - Nick Fisher and Todd Eldridge had found a dry mix mixed in with the rations - and nodded with an amused look on her face. “Go ahead,” she said sleepily.
 Shooting the agent a worried glance, B’Elanna opened the bag, and took a sunflower seed out. She popped it in her mouth and chewed it. She made a face and spat it out. “Eeuw!”
 Heather burst out laughing, and Scully looked even more amused. “You’re supposed to take the seed out of the shell before you eat it,” Scully tried to explain.
 B’Elanna gave up and handed the bag to Heather.
 Morgan Chesly, who was sitting nearby with Wright, Marlett, Carter, Reck, Rand, and Fisher, spoke up. “Agent Scully, why don’t you tell us how you and Agent Mulder met?” she asked. She had heard a lot about the two agents, but most of it was through the grapevine, and she knew that most of the gossip was either false or not entirely true.
 Scully nodded slowly and set the empty mug aside. Wrapping the blankets closer around her, she began to answer the question . . .
***
 Kathryn Janeway was mad. She knew it was not her fault, but she couldn’t help but blame herself. The sensors hadn’t picked up any storm movement in the southern hemisphere until it was too late. Transporters weren’t operational due to the intensity of the storm and the continuous energy emitted from the lightning, and the comm systems weren’t working either. “Harry, can you get a lock on *any* of them?” she asked, standing up from her chair and pacing around the Bridge, her gaze almost never wavering from the viewscreen.
 Kim shook his head. “None, Captain.”
 “When is the storm going to let up?” Janeway said to Ensign Mitrell, who was manning the Tactical post.
 “At least ten hours, sir. The intensity of the storm is growing, as well as the distance that its covering.”
 “Are there any possibilities that we could get a shuttle down through the storms?” Janeway asked.
 Harry paused, then ran a few scans. “I seriously doubt it, but if we could, it would have to be the Flyer with Tom piloting her.”
 Kathryn sat down and took a sip of her coffee, which was now ice cold. Then she stood up, the decision made. “Harry, is the Delta Flyer still in range?”
 “No, Captain. We’d have to send another shuttle after them.”
 “Then do it. I want you and Seven of Nine to go. Take the shuttle Constellations.” ordered Janeway.
 Harry nodded, then exited the bridge. “Kim to Seven of Nine.”
 “Seven of Nine here. Can I be of assistance to you, Ensign Kim?” came the cool reply.
 “We’re going to take a shuttle to the space station. The storm’s intensifying and our only hope of getting our people out in time is to pilot the Flyer. Meet me in Shuttle Bay 1.”
 “Understood. Seven of Nine out.”
*****
 “So, I showed him the misquito bites,” continued Scully, a blush creeping up her otherwise pasty cheeks.
 “On your first case?!” asked Morgan, eyes wide.
 Scully shrugged, embarrassed.  “He was the only one I could go to.”
 Heather grinned.  “And since then, it’s gotten much worse, Morgan,” she commented.
 “What’s *that* supposed to mean?” Scully asked, the challenge obvious in her eyes.
 “Oh . . . nothing,” Heather said coyly, here eyes sparkling.
 Scully mock-glared at her for a moment.  “Sure.  Fine.--”
 “Whatever,” Heather finished for her.  Scully gave her a surprised look, but Heather avoided her questioning gaze.  “Okay, so after you showed him what turned out to be just mosquito bites. . . .”
****
 Mulder craned his neck, trying to take in everything at once.  He felt like a small child again, trying to get the first glimpse of the parade that would come over the hill at any moment.  There was every species imaginable on the trade station, and Mulder could only wish Scully were here to see them all with him.
 Tom tapped Mulder on the shoulder.  “Ready to go?” he asked.
 “Already?” Mulder asked, surprised.
 “One of Voyager’s shuttles just docked at the trade station.  Something must be up.”
 Mulder nodded and set off immediately.  *I hope Scully’s all right.*
 Mulder’s worst fears were realized when he discovered that Scully, along with B’Elanna, Heather, Commander. Chakotay, and the rest of the away team was stranded on the planet in a terrible tropical storm.  Tom looked shaken as well.
****
 Kathryn Janeway massaged her forehead.  The bridge was quiet, the only sound was that of expert fingers dancing over consoles.  This ‘paradise’ was turning out to be more trouble then she had bargained for.  Seven of her senior officers -- pretty much the whole staff -- were either stranded on the planet or on shuttles hopefully returning to Voyager.
 Until Tom and the Delta Flyer returned, there was nothing she could do but wait.
 Janeway hated waiting.
 She hated the feeling of not being able to do something, of being totally at the mercy of chance.  She just hoped and prayed that everyone was safe, and no one was hurt.
****
 Scully paused to take a sip from a water canteen that Heather handed her.  By now the whole group had gathered around her.  They were attentive, and interjected sometimes to ask question, or make a comment.  Usually at her and Mulder’s expense, Scully noticed.  Rand had just finished relating a humorous story of his own, and the group was still chuckling over it.
 The chill of the cave had settled into Scully’s bones, and she felt as though she would never get warm again.  Like when she and Mulder had been in the arctic.  It had been cold, so cold that she had considered laying down next to Mulder and dying there on that barren terrain, safe in his arms.
 She had pulled Mulder back into consciousness, and they had managed to straggle back to the Sno-Cat.  Half-frozen, Mulder had started the Sno-Cat.  She had curled up next to him, her breathing in rhythm with his, being warmed and warming him in turn.  Mulder had kept one hand on the steering wheel, the other wrapped around her.  She thought she had felt his ice cold lips brush the top of her head, but her scalp was so cold she had lost most of the feeling, so she couldn’t be sure.
 When they had finally made it back to civilization, she had nearly cried with relief.  She wouldn’t die out in that desolate land of endless snow-capped hills and icy plains.  She and Mulder had collapsed in the front seat of the Sno-Cat, too exhausted to do anything else after they had deposited themselves on the doorstep of the rest of the world.  She had laid there against him, their arms and legs tangled together until her frozen brain could not tell where her arm ended and his began.  She had felt something well up in her chest that day, as she held Mulder in her arms, his breath warming her frostbitten face.
 If they had died out there among the snow and ice, she would have died a contented woman, safe in the arms of the man she loved.  She had cradled Mulder’s head in her arms as men and women streamed out of buildings and had opened the doors to the Sno-Cat, discovering the two half-dead Americans.  Someone had run to get a stretcher and call the paramedics.  Mulder’s eyes had been closed, ice encrusted, and then he had opened them, as if her thoughts had willed him back to consciousness.  When he looked at her in that moment, she had felt he was seeing right into her . . . into her very being.  His eyes had closed again moment later, and she was fighting sleep herself.  When the people had come to take him from her arms, she wouldn’t let them.  Her exhausted brain could only process one thing: keep Mulder.  She had clutched at his anorak, stiff and frozen, unable to give him up.  When the people had finally succeed in removing him from her grasp, she had felt a physical pain somewhere deep inside of her.
 The pain had stayed with her as the doctors at the local hospital had treated her.  It had stayed with her through that night as she worried about Mulder.  It stayed with her until she had sneaked out of her hospital room the next day, her legs barely holding her up.  She had leaned heavily on her IV stand as she staggered down the hall in search of her partner.  Amazed and yet thankful that no one had stopped her and sent her back to her own room, she finally succeeded in finding him.  He had been asleep, his skin still bluish, though he had his color back.  Her chest heaving and her breath shaky from the exertion her body wasn’t able to handle yet, Scully had let
down the rail on Mulder’s bed.  She had hefted herself up over the edge, and curled up next to him, her body molding against his perfectly.  The pain that had been a knot deep in her chest disappeared, and the doctors had found them sleeping, curled in each other’s arms.
 And when she and Mulder had returned to DC he had wanted her to leave him . . . she knew why he said that.  He wanted to keep her safe; he didn’t want her to face any more pain.  He was giving her a way out.
 But she wasn’t looking for a way out.
 This quest had become as much hers as Mulder’s, and she could not just walk away from it.
 She just couldn’t walk away from him.
 He had become a part of her.  She needed him, as she knew he needed her. She realized what he was sacrificing by giving her the chance to leave.  She couldn’t leave him, even she had wanted to, which she hadn’t.
 He had already lost Samantha to Them.
 She had already lost Melissa to a nameless assassin’s bullet meant for her.
 He had already lost his father, also to an assassin’s bullet, because of what he knew, and also to bring Mulder down.
 She had already lost her father, when there was so much she had wanted to tell him.
 She would never leave Mulder.
 It was only now that Scully realized that her thoughts had not been hers alone.  Unknowingly, she had spoken her thoughts aloud.  Now, realizing the consequences they might have, she averted her eyes from the faces of those surrounding her, pale in the flickering light of the fires which reflected off the cave walls.  Silence reigned for what seemed like hours.  Her
stomach knotted in apprehension.  How could she have done something so stupid?  It must be the poison . . . she couldn’t believe she had said everything out loud . . . what exactly had she said?  She desperately tried to recall every word.
 Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.  Morgan Chesley’s eyes were shining.  Suddenly, Scully realized these people knew what she had gone through.  They, too, had lost families.  Friends.  Loved ones.  Co-workers.
 She swallowed the lump that was forming her throat.  These people from the 24th century who had never met her before had been willing to protect her and Mulder, treat them like honored guests, willing to entertain them and take time from their own problems in the Delta Quadrant to try and solve these two stranger’s problem.
 If this incident had been vice versa, would the United States have treated two of these crew members like this crew was treating her?  Not likely. She forced a weak smile for Morgan.  She couldn’t feel the bottom half of her body. . . .
 She told Heather so, knowing that if she didn’t say anything it would only get worse.  The trance her heartfelt story had created was broken.  People rushed everywhere, suddenly rounding up an extra blanket for her, moving her closer to a fire, and giving her some warm broth.  If Scully had been the kind of person who cried, she would be crying right now out of thankfulness.  She had the feeling any of them would be willing to give their lives to protect her in an instant.  These people were so kind to an absolute stranger.
 She told Heather so when the Betazoid came over to join her.
 Heather just smiled at her.  “We know how you feel.  What you’re going through happened to us,” she said.
 Scully nodded.  “I know.  I admire you all.  You’ve been torn from your homes, the people you love, everything familiar and thrown into a foreign place.  Through all this, you keep an optimistic outlook and are willing to go out of your way to help others.”
 “That’s what the Federation is about.”
 As though she hadn’t heard Heather, Scully continued.  “You gave up your chance to get home for a race you didn’t even know.”
 “You and Mulder would have done the same.”
 “Would we have?”  Scully turned her head to look at Heather.  “I don’t know.”
 “You would have.” Heather replied confidently.
 Scully shrugged, and fell silent.  Heather stood up and walked a few paces to talk to Chakotay.
 “I think she’s doing better,” Heather informed him.
 “Good.  The storm seems to have let up a bit, but it’s still too strong for us to contact Voyager.  We’ll just have to wait this thing out.”
 “Are you sure we have the resources to do that?” asked Heather skeptically.
 “We don’t have much of a choice,” Chakotay said simply.
 Heather nodded slowly.  He was right.  To venture out into the storm was pure madness.
 Heather noticed that B’Elanna was sitting in the place that Heather had minutes before vacated, and she and Scully were talking.  ^Probably about the loves of their lives,^ she thought.  ^Ah, I’ll let em talk.  There’s not much I can add to *that* kind of conversation, as my love life is
nonexistant.^
 “Are you worried about Tom?” Scully asked B’Elanna.
 B’Elanna nodded.  “I’m terrified.  I don’t want him to come back to Voyager to find I’ve died.  I don’t want to die without telling him how much he means to me.”
 Scully’s brow creased in confusion.  “Oh . . . I had been under the impression you two were pretty clear on how you felt about one another.”
 B’Elanna chuckled.  “He knows I love him.  But I don’t say it enough.  I’ve never told him that he has totally changed me; that I am incomplete without him.”  B’Elanna shook her head sadly.  “We fight too often.  I’m too stubborn.  Too much of the time he goes through the day thinking I hate him, and wondering whether or not I’m going to call of the relationship.  Ever since I was child, I’ve had trouble letting people get close to me.  My father left when I was a child, and my mother wasn’t very nurturing.  I was ridiculed in school, and had very few friends.  I’m not used to letting someone get under my skin.  My relationship with Tom has been like trying to find my way without a map . . . and I’m afraid that too often he’s been the one to pay for my problems.”
 “B’Elanna, he knows you love him.  I can see it in the way he looks at you, in the way he holds you and is always touching you.”
 B’Elanna smiled slightly and looked at her hands.  Then she looked up at Scully.  “He loves you, you know.”
 Scully looked at her in confusion.  “Who?  Tom?!”
 B’Elanna grinned at her.  “Sorry, he’s mine.  No, I meant Mulder.”
 “I know he loves me . . . as a best friend.  My brother Bill says that we’re ‘codependent.’  That I’ve gotten so used to being with him I can’t imagine life without him.  While Bill meant it in a negative sense, it’s true.”  B’Elanna was slowly shaking her head.  “What?” Scully asked.
 “I said the wrong thing.  Mulder loves you, but he’s also *in* love with you.”
 Scully blushed.  “How do you know?”
 “Isn’t it obvious?”  B’Elanna asked incredulously.  “He adores you.  He needs you.  He’d give his life for you.  He loves you.  I know I’ve only known him for a few days, but as soon as I met you two I knew.”
 “How did you know?”  Scully asked, intrigued.  She felt as though they were talking about someone else, not her and Mulder.
 “He’s very protective of you.  That’s obvious from the start.  The way he rests his hand in the small of your back and leans to your ear to talk to you.  His body language just screams, ‘back off, she’s mine.’ “  Scully looked at B’Elanna, a disbelieving expression on her face.  “What, it’s
true!”  B’Elanna protested.  “Heather agrees.  Don’t you Heather?” B’Elanna said louder.
 “What?  Oh . . . sure.”  Whitney said, walking over to the two women.  “What did I just agree to?” she asked when she reached them.
 “That Mulder loves Scully.”
 Heather’s mouth shaped to form a big ‘O’, and it was obvious she was fighting a laugh.  “Ohhhh.  Well, then, in that case I won’t retract my agreement.”
 “So how is it that I, the object of these supposed affections, don’t notice this ‘obvious’ behavior.”
 B’Elanna and Heather exchanged looks.  “Just trust us on this one,” B’Elanna said.
 Scully looked back and forth between the two lieutenants.  “I take back what I said earlier, Heather.  You people are impossible.”
 Heather just laughed.
***
 Tom Paris walked hurriedly down the promenade of the space station, scanning the crowds for Neelix. The Talaxian cook had informed him that he would be doing trade negotiations with a Talii. Now Tom was trying to find him, and since security had taken away their commbadges for security precautions, there was no way to contact Neelix.
 *Why oh why did this happen?* he thought, *The planet was gorgeous; how could something like this happen?* The truth was he was worried sick over B’Elanna -- and Heather and everybody else. *I hope they’re all right,* he thought, but he had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong.
 Spotting a familiar figure, Tom broke into a faster clip. "Neelix!" he called out loudly. Several heads turned, but he didn't care.
 Neelix, who had been deep in conversation with two green scaly-skinned violet-eyed aliens, a male and a female, looked up. Excusing himself, he made his way over to Tom. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the distraught look on the pilot's face.
 "Something's come up; there's a storm on the planet, and we can't transport or communicate with the away teams because of all the electrostatic in the atmosphere." Tom replied quickly, noticing that as he said this the two aliens Neelix had been talking with turned to each other and started talking in hushed tones. After Paris had finished briefing Neelix on the situation, the female spoke up. "You wouldn't be talking about the planet Manyarra in the Xola sector, would you?"
 "That's right. Do you know about it?" Neelix asked.
 Again the aliens shared a look.
 Then the male alien said, with a bow in greeting, "My name is Rylah and this is Lylat. Everyone around here knows about Manyarra. It's a paradise in disguise, if you ask me."
 "I'm Tom Paris," Tom introduced. "Why is that?"
 "Hurricanes can last from days to months, and they come sporadically and without warning. Almost no vessels can penetrate the atmosphere and rescue their crewmembers through the storms' interference. The weather conditions just won't allow it."
 Tom paled, and glanced over at Neelix, who looked almost as shocked as he was. "Would you be willing to come back with us to our ship and helping us?" Neelix asked.
 Rylah and Lylat looked at each other for a moment, then Lylat subtly nodded. Rylah turned to face them with a smile on his face. "All right, we shall return to your Voyager. But-" He stopped, but Tom sensed he wasn't finished. "There is that price of payment for our time-"
 "Captain Janeway will greatly appreciate your offer. If you're able to help, I'm sure we'll be able to give you that power relay and the four bio neural gel packs you were interested in earlier," Neelix chimed in.
 Rylah looked skeptical. "And if we are unable to help?"
 "Then we'll return you here," Tom gestured around him, "with one bio neural gel pack.
 "Two." Lylat persisted, her violet eyes narrowing.
 Paris looked at Neelix, who bit his lip as he thought of Voyager's excess of bio neural gel. Seeing the pleading look in Tom's eyes, Neelix consented with a nod. "It's a deal."
 "Very well. We shall go with you." Rylah consented.
 As the four headed quickly to the docking ports, Tom fell into step with Neelix and whispered, "Thanks."
 Neelix only nodded, knowing all too well that Tom was fretting over B'Elanna. He would have been to if Kes had been on the planet, even though he and Kes had broken up a while ago. And now Kes was in an evolved state somewhere in the universe. Shaking his head, Neelix wondered just how they were going to get out of this mess.

***

 Ensign Jane Marlett sighed inwardly as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, hugging them close. It was cold, and the temperature was still dropping. Closing her eyes, she listened to Lieutenant Whitney telling a story about how she and Lieutenant Paris had started a food fight during their years at Starfleet Academy.
 Outside, the rain continued to pour down by the bucketful. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed, lighting the cave in a brilliant flash of light before disappearing as quick as it had come. It was a harsh thunderstorm, although it was much more intense than any of the ones Marlett had been in during her years on Earth before she had become hooked on space travel, specifically Starfleet, in high school. *I'd say that this classifies as a regular hurricane almost,* she mused to herself.
 Jane sat between Morgan and Caitlin, two of her closest friends aboard Voyager. Next to her, Morgan rubbed her shoulders, trying to get warm. Jane laughed along with everyone else as Heather rather sheepishly finished the story with how she, Paris, and the rest of their friends had gotten punished by having to do outdoor cleanup for two weeks. “But that’s not the worst part of it . . .” Heather said, letting her voice trail off. Jane stretched inwardly and gazed absently around the large cavern they had found as shelter. Her gaze rested on “Special Agent Dana Scully,” as she had been introduced. The gorgeous redheaded woman was interesting; she certainly knew some interesting stories. But then again, Jane guessed that her line of work was interesting in the first place. And working with Agent Mulder could certainly only be a plus to that, she mused. *They’re really close,* she thought absentmindedly, thinking back to what Scully had said about Mulder before. Jane’s thoughts were interrupted by the outbursts of laughter coming from everyone else as Heather re-counted how she and Tom had decided to get out of detention.
 “We never crawled through the rose bushes again.” claimed Whitney, then leaned back. “Anybody else want to tell a story?”
 “I’ve got a few disaster stories of my own that happened during the Academy years, but they’re not nearly as funny as yours,” Marlett admitted, remembering the time when she had bleached her hair and gotten purple, lime, and hot pink highlights for the Awards Ceremony when she had to give a speech about how high-classed the Starfleet Academy was. Admiral Standortt had had a fit, but hadn’t been able to do anything about it since there weren’t any statements in the rule book against outlandish hair styles. She smiled at the memory, but shook her head at the science officer’s curious glance. “Maybe later,” she conceded.
 The lieutenant laughed.
 “Anyone else?” Chakotay asked, putting down his rations bar. He had started telling the story about why he had joined the Maquis and left Starfleet when Ensign O’Conner had asked him, and after that it seemed as if everyone had a story to tell. With a little prompting, Agent Scully had been more than willing to tell a few stories concerning her and Mulder’s work. He gazed at the agent, who was gazing around with bright blue eyes. She certainly looked better than she had before; he only hoped that her condition wouldn’t decline before they got her back to Voyager.
 “Actually . . ,” Ensign Bashire’s voice trailed off and she glanced hesitantly over at Scully.
 “Yes?” Scully asked.
 “I’ve got a question. Have you and Mulder ever gone ‘undercover’ before?” Zarine asked.
 Scully groaned inwardly as she remembered the disastrous events at Falls of Arcadia in California. “I’d be lying if I said no,” she said quietly, setting down her mug of broth and wrapping the blankets tighter around her. At the curious looks on everyone’s faces, she relented. “All right. But this is a rather *long* story,” she warned.
 Scully caught Whitney smirking. When Whitney saw her looking at her, she became somber and, with a straight face, said neutrally, “Please continue.” Only the humorous twinkle in her blue eyes gave away the fact that she knew what Scully was thinking about.
 “It all started when AD Skinner got wind of this case about a ‘haunted’-” Scully used her fingers as quotation marks, “house. He gave it to Mulder. In the end, Mulder and I had to pose as a newly married couple and live in the presumed haunted house.” She glared at Heather, who was busy trying not to smirk.
 “You had to be married?” Marlett asked out of curiosity.
 Scully ran her tongue over her bottom lip, then nodded. “Yes, we were Rob and Laura Petri.”
 Heather smiled.
 Scully continued, “The house was in a picture-perfect neighborhood in California. It wasn’t your ideal neighborhood either. You weren’t allowed to have a basketball hoop in the front yard, no pool, no pets, no walks after ten o’clock at night, et cetera. Mulder was pretty upset about the basketball hoop, but he got over it-”
 “How long did this case last?” Rand inquired.
 “Only a few days. After learning about all the C,C, & Rs, Mulder decided to break a few. Turns out the reason why all the couples had disappeared from the house was because an entity made out of garbage, who was concocted by the neighborhood coordinator’s thoughts, killed everyone who didn’t follow the rules.” Scully looked skeptical as she said this; from the look on her face, everyone could tell she found this explanation hard to believe.
 “But that’s not what you think happened,” Sue Nicoletti pointed out.
 Scully raised her eyes to the ceiling. “I didn’t know what to think and my report was inconclusive when I turned it in to AD Skinner. I still don’t know what to think.”
 “Did you and Mulder have fun posing as a married couple?” B’Elanna asked with a slight grin on her face.
 Scully opened her mouth to reply, then thought better of it. “I’m not going to even give you the satisfaction of answering that question, Lieutenant Torres,” she retorted coolly.
 “Smooth one,” Joe Carey commented.
 “Now, now, that’s just being nosy, B’Elanna.” chided Heather with a grin.
 Torres snorted. “I’d like to see what you call some of *your* questions, Whitney.”
 “And what’s *that* supposed to mean?” Heather retorted in mock anger.
 Scully smiled in amusement, shaking her head.
 “Did he carry you over the threshold?” Chesly asked.
 Scully’s eyes widened at the memory of it.
 “He *did*?!” Caitlin shrieked.
 Scully winced. *What did I get myself into?* she thought, then sighed. “He teased me about it.”
 Susan Nicoletti spoke up, “How about a honeymoon video?” she teased.
 Scully’s eyes widened, Mulder’s deadpan tone coming back to her.
 “On tape,” Whitney muttered quietly.
 Scully nodded. “Unfortunately.”
 Everyone laughed or smiled.
 “I’ll bet AD Skinner loved that,” Chakotay commented.
 Scully nodded. “Let’s just say that it wasn’t easy living with Mulder,” she said finally. She then told them about the dinner she, Mulder, and two of their neighbors had, as well as some of the other more important events. She left out the part about how Mulder had wanted to- Scully stopped that train of thought. *He was only joking, Dana,* she warned herself. But she had to admit that sometimes it was hard to tell just *what* Mulder. Half of the time it seemed like he was making passes at her, and the other half of the time he was content at being her closest friend. She was just getting to the part where Mike shoved her in the closet when she began to shiver uncontrollably. She wrapped the blankets around her tighter, but unlike the other times this didn’t seem to help.
 Whitney got to her feet and pulled out one of the few usable tricorders. Scanning her, she bit her lip when the results came up. “Scully, stand up,” she ordered.
 Scully’s brow furrowed in slight puzzlement, but she did as she was told. Or tried to, anyhow. She almost couldn’t move her legs; both felt like they were made of lead, and too heavy for her to lift up. She could barely lift her right leg up, and her knee felt rather stiff. B’Elanna gave her an arm for support, but Scully still couldn’t do it. “Heather? What’s wrong?” Chakotay asked, starting to get to his feet.
 “I don’t know why the heck we didn’t see this before. There’s a paralyzing factor in her bloodstream due to the venom. The tricorder must not have picked it up before because it wasn’t active yet. If I’d had a medical tricorder,” Heather stopped, exasperated and annoyed. “We need to get her back to Voyager before she becomes even more paralyzed.”
 “What do you mean?” Scully asked, not really wanting to know the answer but knowing she should know anyway.
 “The paralyzing factor will continue to be active unless we can treat you with an antidote. There’s no way I can administrate the antidote until the Doctor can analyze the contaminated cells and create one. I could do it, but I’d need equipment from the Science Lab.”
 “What happens if we don’t get her back to Voyager right away?”
 “The paralyzing agent will continue to be in effect, slowly moving through the bloodstream until it reaches her brain-”
 “How much time do I have before this could get really serious, Heather?” Scully asked, her mind racing. *God, I wish Mulder were here.*
 “That’s the thing,” Heather continued with an anxious look on her face. “You’ve only got about twelve to fourteen hours. And I don’t know when the storm’s going to let up enough for us to be transported out of here.”